Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-02-16-Speech-4-198"
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"en.20060216.23.4-198"2
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".
Mr President, it is vital to remember the importance of the EU's commitment in the southern Caucasus, which is still wracked by frozen conflicts, but is highly strategic and resolutely European. We are aware that Mrs Ferrero-Waldner is currently on an official visit to the region, but I would particularly like to launch an appeal to parliamentarians and an appeal to responsibility.
At a time when the European Union is negotiating action plans with each of the countries to promote the stability of the region, Armenia and Azerbaijan have entered a delicate, but hopeful, phase of peace negotiations regarding the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. Presidents Aliev and Kocharian met last Sunday at Rambouillet, under the aegis of the OSCE Minsk group. The success of the process is the top priority, because it could indirectly lead to a resolution to the other conflicts in the region. It is thus a vital precondition to the general stabilisation of the region.
In this context, ladies and gentlemen, do you really think, in your heart of hearts, that now is the time to throw oil on the fire by deleting, as the amendments propose, the sections that quite rightly allow a balanced approach to the joint resolution that we all negotiated together the day before yesterday? We have already condemned the destruction of the cemetery in Julfa, in Mr Tannock's report from January, and we continue to condemn it. However, ladies and gentlemen, we cannot leave out the global context of the frozen conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which has been responsible for thousands of deaths and refugees; the wounds are still raw. Can we also ignore the fact that 20% of Azerbaijan's territory is considered by Armenia to be a buffer zone for Nagorno-Karabakh and that various elements of the cultural and religious heritage of these occupied territories have also been destroyed? It is high time to stop this dangerous escalation. It would be irresponsible to deny the shared responsibility of the parties to a conflict and to refer only to the destruction caused by one side, and it would also be contrary to our commitment to support our Armenian and Azerbaijani friends in the desire to resolve their differences.
Finally, this resolution comes at a time of increased tensions between the Muslim world and the western world. A weak text could reduce these events to a simple clash between the Christian and Muslim worlds. I therefore ask you not to give arguments to the extremists of all sides by voting for a resolution which, if it were amended in line with certain proposals, would be unfairly partisan. It is a question of personal conscience, but it is also the credibility of the European Parliament and, more broadly, the activities of the European Union in the region that are at stake."@en1
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